2023 Fall STAR Educator Recipient: Laura Johnson, PhD
Laura Johnson, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Cell Systems & Anatomy
Nomination Submission:
Barely settled into her new position as Associate Professor in Cell Systems and Anatomy (CSA) in August 2022, Dr. Laura Johnson immediately began teaching in CSA anatomy courses, starting in fall 2022 to the present, benefitting >750 students in six different programs (medical, dental, physical therapy, graduate, post-bac and physician assistant) providing outstanding lectures and/or lab instruction. Moreover, in spring 2023 Laura took an entire semester-long histology course to prep for teaching this topic as co-director in 2024. The quality of her teaching outshines the quantity. Student evaluations reflect her enthusiasm, passion and creative approaches to convey anatomy concepts: “She is amazing! She makes dissection so fun, and she is so knowledgeable when it comes to anatomy.” “She was extremely engaging and very eager to help us out. In lab she was the same way and helped us find a lot of things we struggled to see.” “Dr. Johnson provided the best visual aids for her slides by going out of her way to use a really cool 3D program to help us understand the relationships of structures better”. Her scholarly activities include two recent publications in the highly regarded journal Anatomical Sciences Education, and a submitted manuscript in collaboration with other CSA faculty; a just concluded, riveting P.I. Nixon Library History of Medicine webinar lecture, “Ethics and the Deceased,” with international attendees; and American Association for Anatomy (AAA) Fellow and Symposium Co-organizer for the AAA meeting in 2024. Laura is heavily invested in curriculum and student development: she is designing a CSA Master’s program course and co-designing one for CRNA & post-bac students, has served on two master’s thesis committees, and has participated in outreach to high school students aspiring to careers in healthcare. Dr. Johnson’s devotion and service is unparalleled, and she brings honor to the university.